Digital Marketing Manager Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee - bgcmilwaukee.org March 2015 - Present Manage digital presence of the Clubs, with current focus on web development, SEO, email and video. Created virtual learning portal on website to address needs of members and staff during pandemic. Managed multiple website redesign projects with agency partner. Designed and coded pages to support Clubs programs and campaigns. Previously maintained Clubs' social media presence. Produced and designed several digital products (photos, videos, written content, custom email and website pages) to support dozens of campaigns, including A Club for Every Kid, Davis Dancers fundraiser, Celebrating G.I.R.L.S and college access events.
License Relations and Digital Content Manager Out of the Park Developments - ootpdevelopments.com September 2016 - December 2019 Manage content approvals and relationships with licensing partners Major League Baseball, Major League Baseball Players Association and National Hockey League on behalf of sports video game series Out of the Park Baseball, MLB Manager and Franchise Hockey Manager. Provide marketing and promotional copy on behalf of products. Planned and executed promotional campaigns, including two Reddit AMAs and managed social media efforts with pro baseball players. OOTP 17 won Metacritic.com's best PC Game of the Year award.
Contributing Editor Joystiq - joystiq.com May 2012 - February 2015 Reported on the business and culture of the video gaming industry, averaging 80 - 100 articles per month for AOL’s video game site, Joystiq. Interviewed dozens of leading video game creators and executives. Participated in video game livestreams and created high-quality original video and audio content. Broadcasted to a large social media audience on Twitter (316,000 followers), Facebook (over 88,000 likes), YouTube (18,000 subscribers) and Google Plus (1.7 million followers). Created a month-long social video game movement Four in February (2,000 likes on Facebook).
Social Media Coordinator UWM Digital Arts and Culture Certificate Program - dac.uwm.edu September 2011 – December 2011 Credited internship. Managed and integrated the Digital Arts and Culture certificate program's social networks. Designed promotional graphics, assisted in the creation and execution of WordPress-based portfolio workshops and planned a campus-wide social media campaign for the certificate program.
Editor in Chief The Wiire - thewiire.com (Obsolete) October 2008 – August 2010 Directed, produced and edited all content for the web’s first Nintendo Wii news site. Provided editorial direction and "big picture" leadership. Managed press and industry contacts, fielded image and video press assets from major game publishers/developers, conducted written and podcast interviews, distributed games to reviewers, engaged in weekly podcasts, fan and social network interaction. Assisted in the planning and testing of site layout and backend changes. Managed and maintained social networking presence.
Freelance Writer Self-Employed April 2008 – September 2015 Built a career as one of the video game industry’s top sports gaming experts, writing for esteemed gaming publications on a freelance basis such as GamePro, VentureBeat and Joystiq.
Education University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Bachelor of Arts: Journalism and Media Communications
Mike Suszek is a digital content expert with more than a decade of digital media experience who lives and breathes digital storytelling. He builds web pages and emails from scratch with HTML and CSS, produces professional video content and manages paid social campaigns. He creates content that engages viewers in a variety of formats, from 11-page video game review guides to 280-character tweets.
Mike likes surrounding himself with supremely-skilled individuals to collaborate on engaging projects. He wants to energize a like-minded team and help build electrifying digital products.
He wants to build a bottle that catches lightning.
He also loves metaphors.
Content Ace
Content Ace
Content Ace
Mike published over 2,200 articles on the internet. Here are a few of his favorites from over the years:
Crowdfund Bookie - A year-long, data-driven, 37-article column that broke ground in the crowdfunding industry.
Inside The Behemoth’s ‘Game 4’ - An interview with The Behemoth’s Dan Paladin.
Joystiq Presents - A radio-style podcast series in which Mike produced 11 episodes in days to commemorate the closure of Joystiq.
Making the Grade in Madden - Mike was one of the first to get clarity on the methods in which EA Sports grades athletes in the Madden NFL series.
Twitch Plays Pokemon - The interactive streaming phenomenon was unlike anything the gaming industry has ever seen; Mike spoke with a sociology and gaming expert about it.
Data Driven
Data Driven
Data Driven
Digital content creators have the luxury of measuring their success with hard numbers. Here are a few numbers Mike is proud of:
At Joystiq, his articles earned more than 6.1 million unique views, more than 8.8 million page views and more than 671,000 social referrals.
Since he joined the Clubs, its social media following has skyrocketed: Facebook by 100%, Twitter by 150%, YouTube by 200%, LinkedIn by 110% and the brand-new Instagram channel grew by more than 1,700 followers.
Architect of 'Cool'
Architect of 'Cool'
Architect of 'Cool'
Mike relishes the challenge of taking a creative team member's visions, rolling up his sleeves and making them come to life:
A Club for Every Kid - Mike adapted the striking visuals from Laughlin Constable’s “Within Reach” campaign to a fully-responsive webpage, complete with a custom donation module for online contributions to the A Club for Every Kid campaign.
Once a Club Member, Now a Principal - Mike filmed and produced the Clubs’ trustee solicitation story for fall 2017. The story was a fundraising hit, disseminated across direct mail, social, email, website and video channels, of which he was responsible for all but the direct mail piece.
MarVan Scholars - Mike produced a video detailing the MarVan Scholars academic program's use of 'CRATE' plans that help academic staff implement educational curricula at Boys & Girls Clubs locations.
Rockstar Consultant
Rockstar Consultant
Rockstar Consultant
Mike provides expert guidance to game developers as a professional consultant. He has helped teams big and small find success in their fundraising and development campaigns, including EA Sports’ Madden NFL and 2K Sports’ NBA 2K series.
He also consults others in Milwaukee’s nonprofit community to help their organizations improve their digital footprint and better spread their mission.